Ragnarok: The End of the (Marvel) World as We Know It?

It’s not really a secret to anyone that I get ridiculously excited about Marvel movies. I’ve actually stopped watching the trailers for the most part because I just turn into an annoying little ball of pent-up excitement.

It’s kind of been that way for Infinity War ever since I saw the release schedule that came out a few years ago.

But we’re not here today to talk about that. What I really want to talk about is Armageddon.

Oh, wait. I mean Ragnarok.

Ragnarok, the Nordic armageddon

I’ve had a fascination with Ragnarok since my days of bird courses in children’s literature. As you Norse mythology buffs out there may know, it’s essentially the Vikings’ end-of-days tale, and one of the many terribly deathy situations is that Fenrir breaks loose of his chains and tears the world a new one.

Fenrir, who happens to be the basis for the Big Bad Wolf trope (aaaaand that’s how it fit into children’s literature), is also Loki’s son.

Now, it kind of looks like the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok movie is going to vary a wee bit from the legends. It’s not Loki’s crazy wolf-child who leads the charge on Asgard; it’s Hela, the goddess of death and quite possibly Thanos’ beloved Lady Death herself. After all, it’s the end of the world—better bring in the big guns.

Sidebar: Speaking of Thanos, can we please talk about how painfully elusive he’s been pretty much since Day 1? He’s been teasing us for actual, real-world years with stronger and stronger hints, but he’s either too camera-shy to make his debut or he’s extra. It’s worse than the White Walkers of Game of Thrones. That’s not a spoiler; we all know it’s true.

Shaking things up with style

Exhibit A: Thor’s revamped aesthetic reminds me a little of a familiar rag-tag group of Guardians.

One of the interesting things I’ve noticed about Marvel is that each of its major characters (i.e., the ones that have their own series) have had massive reckonings in their third movies. These reckonings have each completely shaken up the franchise, and have pushed the story in a completely new direction.

Thor definitely seems to be following in the footsteps of Iron Man and Captain America, and in his third big-screen special will have to very literally battle death to save his ancestral home.

The difference with this one, though, is that it’s not just the story that seems to be changing. It’s the storytelling.

See, the third movies for Stark and Rogers both kept their toes in line with the overall aesthetic of their predecessors. Thor’s third, however, looks like it’s hit some big, red reset button somewhere because it’s not using the traditional Nordic theme.

Instead, it looks like we’re getting a very definitive Guardians-esque ‘80s vibe with just a splash of Chuzzle, only one of the most addictive, repetitive early-2000s PC games ever.

Overall, I’m really intrigued to see how it plays out, with Marvel apparently starting to incorporate elements of its lesser-known comics turned super-viral movies into its headliners. Will it be a one-off, or can we expect more of this unique take to manifest through the MCU, with the end of the world as we know it drawing so close?